Letters to the editor

Stop the airplanes…Stop the threats/For the kids

Posted
Tuesday, November 18, 2008 3:37 pm

Penny Tolgo/John D. Brent

Editor,
I love deer, truly love deer, but I am shocked by the articles of big brother is watching from the air to catch farmers baiting deer. Do you realize how many farmers lose their crops to huge herds of deer? Do you realize how many people die or are maimed in automobile accidents when they hit a deer?
Now I love the deer, but they are not native of Michigan. They do not have enough natural predators, either. Their herds get too big. They can decimate a farmers crops.
Deer like meadows. Michigan was thick, rich forests, remember history. Those huge mansions in Saginaw, remember, were built by the lumber barons. It was not until after the logging when meadows and fields began to appear around Michigan. Remember, Roosevelt gave people jobs reforesting Michigan during the depression.
Mr. Sims, in AuGres, was one of the first to bring in deer. My father used to work for Mr. Sims, at Sims ranch in Arenac County, near AuGres, they began to experiment. The experiment was to see how well deer would take to living in Michigan.
Soon there were too many deer. They became a nuisance. It was decided to create a hunting season. Besides harvesting/controlling the deer herd numbers, many families would get welcome food through the winter. Many years the farmers would petition the government to hunt out of season to save the carrot fields and the onion crops or the apple orchards. They were granted those out of season waivers to save their fields and crops.
Please stop this big brother watching attitude of the airplanes flying over. Be reasonable. Many times the winters were so severe that huge deer herds would starve or freeze to death. Mr. Sims brought them in from Indiana. They were not native of Michigan. Have you ever been on the guided tours on Mackinac Island? Tour guides say they planted deer on the island and when winter came and the lakes froze over, the deer walked across the ice and left. They are not native of the area.
Let the deer be used to feed the people already suffering from our hurting economy. Teach families recipes for venison sausage, venison stew, or venison chili. Celebrate this bounty from God. Help our communities. Stop the airplanes. Stop the threats.
Penny Tolgo
Formerly of Turner
Santa Rosa, Calif.

Editor,
First, I’d like to congratulate Mr. Kolevar for his service as a bus driver for the SSC school district. What an accomplishment! I am, however, a bit confused. In the nice, front-page article this week, Mr. Kolevar describes his dedication throughout the years and his talents as a trainer for other bus drivers. Like all jobs, driving a bus has ups and downs, but it sounds like he really enjoyed it.
What surprised me about the article was the three-paragraph, quoted message on page 7a. Mr. Kolevar, a member of this small community, who sent his own children and grandchildren to the district and volunteered for years in Sterling Elementary, said such things about a district/building that would open its arms to him to come in, work with the children (to make pies) and spend time with them, when every educator knows, it’s not always easy to do with all the regulations, benchmarks and standards that have to be finished by year’s end. His experiences were designed to give students that ‘extra’ are being described as, “They’re not there for the kids anymore, they’re there for their paycheck.” Again, I’d like to say anyone who thinks teaching is the kind of job you can do simply for a paycheck should try it, but I don’t believe anyone dedicates that much of their day (it’s not 9-5), going back for state and community regulated college credits, time away from their family, for a paycheck that isn’t comparable with other bachelor/master degree holders. We do it for the kids!
As a former educator, I’m upset when anyone -parent, student, community members- looks upon our profession unkindly. If I were a member of the Standish-Sterling School District, I’d be appalled by comments made claiming there’s “backbiting and the quality has dropped.” Isn’t it backbiting to walk into a building, volunteer, and then prosecute those who invited you? I hope, that as a member of the Sterling Elementary building, in particular, I would think again about allowing someone who was so negative to them to return. Random comments are one thing, but to put it in a local paper so everyone can read it cannot even be claimed as a “misquote.” No writer in the world could “misquote” for three paragraphs and not be sued for libel or have a job.
I’m not taking anything away from his years of service. But burning bridges and attacking an entity that did its best to accommodate you, isn’t a classy way to go out.
John D. Brent
Saginaw

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